Moving On
by BonesEmily1013
Summary: In the aftermath of Emma's outburst, set a few months afterwards, Will tries to reconnect to Emma while she seems more intent on forgetting him. Can they try and come back to each other? K for now may change to M in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own them. Wish I did so I could stop the inevitable Ross/Rachel scenario between Will and Emma so they could be happy for a little bit. ****Minor spoilers for Season 2 based on what I've read out there.**

Will looked on at his Glee kids with pride. They had just won Regionals after a fantastic showdown with Vocal Adrenaline. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and noticed Shelby approaching him.

'Not bad' she stopped level with him and crossed her arms with a wry smile while she watched New Directions celebrate their victory.

'Thanks Shelby.' Will beamed at her. The compliment was unexpected considering his club had just ended her winning streak. 'You weren't so bad yourself...No hard feelings?' Will turned and extended his hand to shake hers but Shelby had other ideas. She opened her arms and grabbed him into a hug. Will was shocked at first and held his arms out so as not to touch her, but didn't want to be rude so before he knew it he found he was hugging her back.

'So now we're not competing for the same spot, do you think you've sufficiently put yourself back together so we can go on a date?' Shelby purred into his ear and then squeezed him hard before releasing him to look in his eyes expectantly, her eyes sparkling as her smile widened.

Will was at a loss for words and started to open and close his mouth. What did he say without completely hurting her feelings? He knew that his relationship with Emma was anything but perfect but he held out hope that pretty soon they could find each other again. His divorce had been finalised a couple of weeks ago and he had tried to tell Emma but had decided to wait until Regionals had finished. He knew the extra work that the kids required leading up to the competition would mean that he couldn't devote the time and attention that was required with Emma for them to work.

'Shelby I'm sorry I just...I'm in love with someone else.' Will wore the puppy dog expression which he knew had an effect on women. Hopefully he wasn't going to find himself on the end of a right hook. Shelby smiled and nodded dejectedly. She knew it was a slim chance but she'd thought to herself 'you don't ask you don't get' right?

'That's ok. I just wanted to... check.' She shrugged and smiled as she looked at Will.

Will smiled back with a look of relief plastered all over his face and leaned in to give her a hug. She graciously accepted but noticed the minute she walked into his arms she felt him stiffen. She pulled back to look at his face. 'What is it? What's wrong?' She was worried. He'd initiated this hug right? She didn't mis-read anything?

Will's face filled with horror as he found a pair of beautiful big brown eyes looking back at him filled with disappointment. 'Um...I'll see you around Shelby.' Will spoke so quietly she barely heard him.

'Yeah, sure.' Shelby was confused. That was, until she turned around to follow Will's path and she caught sight of who she guessed was the woman she'd lost Will too.

Will stopped in front of Emma, aching to touch her and form any type of physical connection. He'd missed her these last few months but had agreed to give her the space she asked for. 'Hey' he almost whispered but half smiled at her. 'That was lame' he thought to himself.

'He...hey, Wi..Will. How, um, how're you doing?' Emma stumbled through her sentence. There was a pause as Will pushed his hands into his pockets. He was about to answer when Emma broke the silence. 'Sorry stupid question, Glee just won Regionals, you must be ecstatic.' She nodded her head and avoided his eyes in that absent-minded way she had when their conversation was forced.

'Yeah I couldn't be more proud of them.' Will's big beaming smile returned to his face as he looked round at the still celebrating New Directions. As he turned back to look at Emma he could see she was looking past him in the direction of the Glee club but with a far off look in her eyes, almost pained. It hurt him to see her clearly struggle with the idea of simply talking to him. They never used to be like this. They used to be each other's rock. Someone who they could go to whenever they needed to talk or to get advice from. Will cleared his throat which seemed to break Emma's focus. She blinked and then looked up at him with a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes and Will noticed. He took a step closer to Emma and she tensed. Almost afraid that he might touch her and break down those walls she'd successfully built around her heart to prevent any further 'Will Shuester' shaped dents from appearing.

'Emma listen...We need to talk. I've got some news and...and I want to be able to sit down and discuss it with you.' It was Will's turn to stumble over his words.

Emma looked into his eyes for the first time since Will had come over to her. She tried desperately to read whether it was something that was going to hurt even more than she did now. He smiled at her trying to ease the tangible tension between them. Her breath caught as she found herself being swept up in his eyes. She averted her gaze quickly before her knees gave way and he'd have to catch her. How embarrassing would that be?

'Su...sure that would umm...that would be fine.' Emma's awkwardness returned to her. She clenched her fists in frustration at what had happened to them. He'd hurt her and that was his problem not hers she told herself forcefully. She breathed out heavily and forced herself to look into his eyes and shrugged casually as she said, 'I think I've got a free slot first thing on Monday.'

His heart sank. He recognised the blatant attempt at keeping them platonic. 'Oh, umm actually I was hoping I could come by later and...'

'I can't tonight I'm sorry Will.' Emma interrupted him quickly.

'Oh ok...I understand.' He tried to make it sound casual, but the disappointment was evident.

'No, it's just that...' The next bit was going to hurt and Emma tried to think of another plausible excuse to spare him the pain. Then she remembered the pain Will had caused over the past six months seemingly without any concern for her own feelings. 'I...umm...I have a date.' There she'd said it. Emma had involuntarily cringed and bowed her head as she spoke waiting for the pained retort. When it wasn't as forthcoming as she'd expected she looked up and saw Will Shuester in what can only be described as a complete state of shock. The pain he felt was evident but she could almost see a sense of acceptance, as if he knew that something like this was coming. 'What have I done?' she thought. A look of panic washed over her face but Will was quick to interject.

'Wow! I'm so pleased for you.' Will smiled, falsely. 'Do I know him?' Will shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at the floor before looking back at Emma.

She shook her head, no. 'He's my dentist.'

'Oh right. Well, uh, I hope you have a great time.' Will was praying that his voice wouldn't betray him. His heart felt like someone was squeezing all the life out of it. Just when he thought that he and Emma might have a chance to rekindle whatever it was they had, something comes along to screw it up. 'What did you expect? Her to just sit around and wait for you? You screwed up.' Will's eyes started to tear up at that thought, knowing that it was his fault that she was going on a date with another man.

He started to walk past her when, 'Will' she called after him.

He stopped and looked back at her with a forlorn expression on his face, 'Yeah?'

'See you Monday?' It was a pointless question but she couldn't bear to watch him walk away from her with such a 'kicked puppy' expression on his face knowing that she was partly to blame.

He smiled ruefully, 'Sure. See you Monday.' Will half attempted a smile and then turned back and began to walk away from her.

Emma stood there with her arms clasped together in front of her watching the decidedly dejected form of Will Shuester retreating from her.

**Right what do we think boys and girls? Please R&R. Constructive criticism welcome.**

**Up next...The Date.**


	2. Waiting on the Date

**Thank you for all the great responses so far. As requested I have now added speech marks for people talking and apostrophe marks for people's thoughts. I hope it's a little easier to read now. Thanks for all the encouragement. **

Emma was nervous. She checked herself in the mirror for about the fourteenth time. She looked no different. Her make-up was pristine and her hair lay obediently in place. 'Why am I so nervous? It's just dinner.' She knew why. It was because for the first time since she'd started going to therapy, she had made a decision that didn't involve Will. A world that didn't involve Will was scary, but her therapist, Dr Wanger, had encouraged her to take her own advice and try to discover who she was on her own. It had turned out that Will had integrated into her life to the extent that she would juxtapose all decisions with 'I wonder what Will would do/think/say?' Emma had tried to stop this habit but she found that the more she tried to disentangle Will from her life, the worse her mysophobia got. He'd become what she thought was her cure without realising it. She sighed to herself. She would beat this, she had to. She couldn't rely on him, he'd proved that when he hadn't denied his shenanigans with Shelby and April. Yes, depending on someone like she had on Will wasn't healthy and, as Dr Wanger had been the first to point out, her dependency on Will wasn't a cure and could cause her to relapse to the early days of her illness. It had been Dr Wanger's idea for her to try and go on a date with someone outside of her workplace. By pure coincidence, Emma had scheduled a dentist appointment straight after her therapy session that day. For whatever reason Emma had been feeling bold and once he'd finished with the customary scale and polish, she decided to ask her dentist out to dinner. He'd been stunned at first but flattered. Emma Pilsbury was pretty and despite her obvious problem, Dr Heinburg hadn't been put off. He'd graciously accepted and now here she was the following Saturday nervously staring at her reflection in the mirror.

The bell to her apartment buzzed, shaking Emma from her reverie. She jumped and her whole body tensed. Her eyes widened as she looked back at herself in the mirror once more. She felt her fists clench so she closed her eyes as she breathed in and then breathed out slowly. Dr Wanger's relaxation techniques had been very effective over the coming months and again proved their worth as she felt the tension leave her body. Emma uncurled her fists and her shoulders relaxed. She smiled in triumph and went to answer the door.

There stood Dr Steve Heinburg DDS with his dark brown wavy hair, blue eyes and a perfectly white smile on his face (of course), "Hi"

Emma blushed slightly and looked down shyly, "Hi..."

"You ready to go?"

"Su...sure. I'll just get my jacket." Emma said quietly as she went to retrieve it and placed it over her arm neatly.

"Oh here. Let me." He grabbed hold of the collar to help her into it and brushed her forearm as he reached for it. Emma tensed again and her eyes filled with fear. Steve noticed, "Oh Emma. I'm so sorry. I forgot..." He quickly let go of the jacket but it was too late.

"It's...it's uh ok I just need to uh...go wash my hands. Please make yourself comfortable." Emma frowned (more at herself than Steve) and rushed through the last part of the sentence, wanting to get to her bathroom to scrub her arm as quickly as possible. She left a dumbfounded Steve on the doorstep as she slammed the bathroom door shut hurriedly. He took a step inside her apartment and couldn't believe how clean everything was. 'Wow! She really must suffer with this.' He thought as he walked over to the couch and sat down as he heard the water splashing in the sink.

Emma was panicking. Trying to grip soap when your hands are shaking is a difficult task. The water splashed everywhere as she started to scrub away at her arms. 'Rinse, lather, repeat. Rinse, lather, repeat.' The repetition was soothing to her in her own way but she couldn't calm down enough to get a grip. 'Come on Emma. It's just a brush of the arm. And he's a dentist, his hands are probably much cleaner than anything you come into contact with at work.' She tried to reason with herself but it wasn't working. She caught a glimpse of herself in the bathroom mirror. Her hair had started to stick up and she must have started to cry at some point because her mascara had started to run ever so slightly. This caused a new wave of panic to erupt within her. 'What will he think of me now? How am I going to get out of this? This never happened when Will touched me.' And there it was. The mere mention of his name had ceased all panic. She managed to gain control once again. Taking a deep breath she smoothed down her hair and worked out a way to make her make-up look semi-normal again. Unless she re-did her entire face, which would take even longer, there was no way she was going to get it looking as flawless as it had done. Emma shrugged. She'd left poor Steve out there long enough; if he was still out there.

Steve heard the bathroom door open and he stood up quickly. She hadn't been gone all that long but 15 minutes to wash your hands was a little excessive, even by his standards. She appeared with her head down. She looked ashamed.

"Are you alright?' He asked softly.

Emma nodded silently and forced herself to look at him, "I'm fine. I'm sorry about that, it's just..."

"The mysophobia, I know." He interrupted quickly. He had a feeling that if he didn't reassure her quickly, he'd be going to dinner alone. "Look Emma, I'm not going to pretend that I understand everything about it, but I'm not going to judge you. Please...can we still go out to dinner?" Steve approached her quietly and remembered just in time not to touch her. He wanted her to understand that he was willing to be patient.

Emma could hardly believe her ears. 'He still wants to go out to dinner with me? Even after all that craziness at the door?' She smiled and said "I'd like that."

"After you." Steve smiled back and shut the door behind them. Maybe it wasn't going to be such a bad evening after all he thought to himself.

**Well that's it for now. I hadn't planned on having an in between chapter. Now I could either skip to Monday morning and Emma can fill in the gaps when she has her talk with Will or I could write the date. What do you guys want? Click that button, you know you want to.**


	3. Monday Morning

Will nervously walked towards Emma's office. He was anxious to know how her date went on Saturday night. He had to admit that his heart had sunk when she'd told him she was going out with someone else, but he couldn't wholeheartedly blame her. Thinking back over the last few months he realised that Emma might have lost interest as he'd distanced himself and not made any further attempt at wooing her after his flowery peace offering. 'Things are different now. I'm not married anymore I can focus my whole attention on her. I only want her. I love her.' Will reasoned to himself and then squared his shoulders in determination and took a deep breath. He knocked quietly on her door.

Emma looked up absentmindedly with a big smile on her face. It fell slightly when she saw Will standing there. She'd forgotten about her 'appointment' with Will this morning. She dropped her head and looked up shyly at him.

"Hey." It was almost a whisper.

"Hey Em." Will put on a brave face; he could tell that she wasn't really that pleased to see him but he continued to walk into her office and planted himself in the chair in front of her desk.

"How was your weekend?" Emma asked politely.

"It was uneventful. I did some laundry, watched TV. What about you? How did your date go?" Will tried to sound upbeat.

Emma blushed and looked into her lap.

"What happened? He didn't hurt you did he?" Will sat forward, concern plastered all over his face.

Emma couldn't help it. She laughed ironically, "Why do you assume that I can't do anything without you there to protect me Will?" She stared straight at him then.

He was speechless. Apart from her outburst in the faculty lounge, Emma was always soft spoken, and she never sounded as blunt as she just had. He wore a deer in headlights expression his mouth opening and closing, struggling to come up with an answer.

"I...I don't...I..."

"I'm sorry Will I didn't mean for it come out like that." Emma looked at him through big brown orbs looking sheepish. When he didn't add anything she took pity on him and decided to start again, her expression softening.

"It went very well, thank you. He took me to the Italian restaurant on Main Street and he'd brought along sterilised cutlery for me." She beamed at the memory. He'd been so thoughtful to think of her like that.

Will rolled his eyes. 'What the heck was up with this guy? Sterilised cutlery? She was supposed to be getting better by trying new things, not to have the mysophobic behaviour encouraged! Surely her therapist had told her that.' Will was beside himself. 'Oh well I guess I should try to be nice. I don't want to start a fight.'

"That was thoughtful of him." It was less than convincing.

"Will, I know that this must be hard for you but there's no need to be rude." Emma frowned at him.

" What? All I said was that that was thoughtful of him." Will pleaded his innocence but sensed he was fighting a losing battle.

"Will I saw you roll you eyes! Can't you just be happy for me?" Emma had stood up now the anger pulsing through her.

"Yes I can if I thought it's what you really wanted."

"What do you know about what I want? You have been dating another woman even after you said that you were sorry and wanted us to work! And...you're still married!"

"Emma I've already apologised to you about April and Shelby and as for marriage that's what I wanted to talk to you about..." He got slower as he came to the end of the sentence and looked confused before he added, "Wait hang on a minute what do you mean dating?"

"Oh no, don't try and change the subject."

"Emma you're not making any sense. I haven't dated anyone since you."

"What about you and Shelby at Regionals? I saw you together." Emma's voice was now the loudest Will has ever heard it, angry tears spilling over

"Emma that was just a hug. Yes she asked me out but I turned her down." His eyes boar into hers, willing her to understand why.

"Why?" The inevitable question followed. Pain evident in her voice and eyes. There was a pregnant pause before Will swallowed hard, fighting his own tears.

"Because I love you." It can out bluntly but quietly. Will focused his gaze right at her. Willing her to contradict him to fight him.

"No...no you don't!" She raised her voice once again shaking her head vehemently.

Will stepped towards her. "Yes, yes I do." He was in front of her now. Emma looked everywhere but at his eyes. She began to hyperventilate but Will had made up his mind. He placed both hands either side of her face and drew her to him gently. Their lips connected softly but Will soon applied more pressure. Emma made a sound that sounded like rebellion as he pressed harder but soon found herself relaxing into his embrace. His arms fell from her face and placed themselves round her tiny waist to pull her even closer. Without warning Emma opened her mouth. Will anticipated her and opened his. Their tongues duelled but not aggressively; almost like they were doing a dance. Emma purred softly which made Will's grip tighten automatically on her hips. She could feel the effect she had on him. She couldn't help smiling to herself at that thought 'I made Will Shuester want me like that'. Emma's head started to spin as the need for oxygen became more and more of an issue.

The bell rang suddenly making them both pull away. Will kept his arms round Emma and looked at her with a sad smile on his face. She was flushed and her lips were swollen from his kisses, and he'd somehow managed to dishevel her hair in the process. They both panted from the exertion their breaths mingling. If it had been anyone else Emma would have run screaming from the room, rushing to brush her teeth. She tried to look into Will's eyes to see whether it gave way to what he was really thinking.

Will realised being in an office made of glass was probably not the best way to be found by his students with his arms around the guidance councillor. He took a step back and cleared his throat.

"This isn't over." His face was stern but sincere. Emma knew he was serious. All she could do was nod her head weakly.

Will resigned himself to first period and left her office without a second look back.

Emma sank into her chair with a slight smile on her face, 'Oh boy' she thought to herself before suddenly realising that she was supposed to be dating another man. She became frantic looking for a number. She knocked things off her desk in a very un-Emma like manner until she found the business card she was looking for. She dialled the number, punching the keys aggressively. It rang and she tried to control her breathing.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Dr Wanger? Are you free this afternoon?"

**Well that's all folks. Sorry for the delay but I've been so busy at work. I hope it was worth the wait. Thank you for all the support and keep it coming. It helps my muse.**


	4. Therapy

Emma sat quietly in Dr Wanger's waiting room, wringing her hands nervously. She allowed her mind to drift off and she found it wondering back to Will. The feel of his lips on hers, the breathlessness from the kiss they'd shared. Emma had subconsciously closed her eyes and began to smile, her breathing accelerated.

"Emma" his voice sang to her. "Emma" she wanted to answer him but felt she couldn't.

"Emma!" the voice was more forceful this time and definitely didn't sound like him. She opened her eyes then and realised it had been Dr Wanger calling her into her appointment. Embarrassed, Emma got up from her chair and walked into Dr Wanger's office with her face glowing with a blush and an intense and sudden interest in her shoes over coming her so that she wouldn't have to look her therapist in the eye. Emma sat down and waited for the inevitable questions.

"Are you alright Emma?" Dr Wanger looked concerned. Emma had been making progress and their appointments were becoming less frequent. She was sure something must have happened to spark this sudden urgency to have an emergency appointment.

"I..umm...I don't know...I'm so confused." Emma struggled to speak.

"What about?" Dr Wanger probed. Emma started wringing her hands again and looked into her lap.

"Emma, if these therapy sessions are going to work you're going to have to talk to me. There's no need to be embarrassed." Dr Wanger's voice softened. She could see that Emma was hugely distressed and that she was going to have to go slowly in order for Emma to be able to explain.

"'mgoingoutwithSteveandI'msoconfusedIdon'tknowwhattodo." Emma's words came tumbling out in a torrent of speech. When she'd finished she squeezed her eyes shut and brought her hands up to the sides of her head and growled in frustration as she got up and started pacing.

"Emma, slow down. I can't understand you." A frown of concern appeared on Dr Wanger's face as she followed Emma with her eyes.

Emma brought her hands down to her sides deliberately but with her fists still clenched. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes which bore straight into Dr Wanger's, "Will told me he loves me and then he kissed me...and...and I kissed him back." When Dr Wanger didn't respond she added, "But I'm dating Steve and I don't know what to do." She sat down then, seemingly exhausted at the weight of what she'd just said.

Dr Wanger considered the information for a moment. She was aware of Emma's history with Will but she had no idea that Emma had taken her advice about seeing someone else.

"How do you feel about what Will told you?" Dr Wanger looked directly at Emma then, waiting to see any telltale signs in her facial expressions.

Emma looked at her therapist will her eyes wide, praying that Dr Wanger would answer the question for her. When an answer wasn't forthcoming Emma shrugged, "I don't know. I mean, I've been waiting so long to hear him say that and now he has...oh it's just not the right time for this. I'm seeing someone!" Emma had smiled when remembering Will's words but by the end of the sentence she began to get frustrated with the situation again and rose from the chair to resume pacing.

"Why do you think you kissed him back?"

"Because he was so warm and comforting and forceful. He said it wasn't over and my heart was thumping at the memory of how it was but then I remember how much he hurt me and I feel I can't trust him." Emma had swooned at the beginning of her explanation but her eyes had been full of hurt when she prompted the memory of Will's betrayal.

"And how do you feel about Steve?" again the measured voice not giving out any hints of emotion.

"I don't know that either. He's sweet and funny and so very patient with me but...but he's not Will." Emma then continued to explain about how she'd had a panic attack when Steve had touched her but while she was scrubbing her hands she thought of Will and she'd completely relaxed to the extent she had let Steve kiss her goodnight at the end of the evening.

"Do you trust Steve?"

"Yes." She didn't even have to think about it.

"Emma, we've discussed before how Will is your 'security blanket'. It's not healthy for any other relationships you might try and form." Dr Wanger was sympathetic but she was determined to make Emma an independent individual rather than get her to rely on one person because if it all went wrong then Emma Pilsbury would be on her patient list for a very long time.

"Look, you are obviously confused about your feelings for Will but you also have formed an attachment to Steve. Would you consider...as an experiment, going on another date with Steve?" Dr Wanger chose her words carefully.

"What good would that do? Surely I'd be just leading Steve on that way. And what about Will? What do I do about us?" Emma could feel a panic attack coming on as she forced herself to sit down again. Dr Wanger chimed in as she tried to calm her hysterical patient.

"Emma, you've told me in the past that since Will hurt you, there isn't an 'us' for you two. The fact that you said you can't trust him is not a good foundation for a relationship. I think you need to spend some time away from Will while you work out what you want from him. Now, I'm not suggesting that you commit to anything drastic with Steve, but if you enjoy his company and more importantly you trust him, why shouldn't you continue to see him?" Dr Wanger stated matter-of-factly.

Emma thought about this for a moment. What Dr Wanger had said was making sense. 'But what about Will?' she asked herself painfully, 'What about your history, and what about that kiss? You kissed him back you know.'

'Only because I wasn't given a choice. He cornered me.' This internal battle went on for a few moments and Emma was well aware that she was lying to herself, but she just wanted to be normal. She knew a relationship with Will was going to be anything but, and the more she kept holding herself back due to trust issues, the longer she was going to stay alone.

"You know Dr Wanger, I guess I could try it." Emma smiled shyly and nodded her head decisively as she got up to leave.

"Well done Emma! I want to see you back here next week to see how your coming along alright?" Dr Wanger called after Emma as she exited the office.

Emma hardly heard her though as she had already got her mobile phone out of her bag and began phoning Steve's cell. Her appointment had made her feel revitalised and in control. She was high on the sensation.

"Hello?" His deep baritone came across the receiver.

"Hi Steve, it's Emma."

"Hi! How are you?" His voice radiated excitement from hearing from her. After their last date he wasn't so sure that things were going as well as he'd hoped. The fact that she'd called him gave him a massive confidence boost.

"I'm fine, thank you. Umm..are you...are you free this evening?" Emma started to lose confidence as she struggled to finish the sentence. She'd reached her car at this point and was glad that she didn't have an audience as she sunk into the driver's seat.

"I am actually. What did you have in mind?"

"Oh, well I thought we could go out to dinner, there's a little place just round the corner from me. Do you like Italian?" Her eyes sparkled at her boldness and her confidence radiated down the phone.

"I do as it happens. Shall I pick you up around 7?"

"Seven would be great!"

"Ok see you then. I gotta go, I've got a patient."

"Oh of course, sorry. I'll see you tonight." Emma smiled and bit her lip shyly.

"See you tonight." With that he hung up. Emma couldn't help feeling a certain sense of satisfaction that she had taken the initiative to phone him. She liked the feeling. She hadn't felt like that since...Will. He face fell for a split second when that thought came in to her head, but she quickly shook her head and reminded herself that she mustn't torture herself like that anymore. From now on, her thoughts would only be of Steve.

With a new resolve, Emma started the car and headed back towards school to finish out the day.

**Well there you have it. I'm evil I know. There will be Wemma fluff coming up but you'll just have to post a review to wake the fluff fairy up. Thank you to all who reviewed previously, you guys are really supportive.**


	5. Glee Practice

'_You can't always get what you want...you can't always get what you want...'_

Will sat listening the Glee club rehearsing. He decided to let them pick their favourite songs today as a reward for winning Regionals. Unfortunately considering the day he'd had, the words were like a private taunt. Will slumped in his chair and his face fell even further. 'What do I have to do to get her back?' Will was wracking his brain, so much so that he hadn't realised they'd stopped singing.

"Mr Shue?" Rachel waited for an answer but when it wasn't forthcoming she approached him cautiously.

"Mr Shue, dude you ok?" Finn and Puck both followed Rachel and approached Will from the other side.

"Mr Shuester?" Rachel raised her voice.

"Uh what yeah?" Will realised he'd been caught.

"Are you feeling alright Mr Shue?" Finn looked concerned and frowned at his teacher.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry guys I guess I'm just a little distracted today." Will sighed.

"Miss P givin' you trouble?" Puck asked with a smirk on his face, nodding knowingly.

Something inside Will just snapped, "You know what, that's none of your business Puckman. Why don't you just grow up!" He was really yelling now. Several of the Glee girls inhaled sharply in shock.

"I'm...I'm sorry Mr Shue I didn't mean anything by it." Puck uncharacteristically stammered and retreated back to his seat. Finn's frown deepened.

"Mr Shue he was only kidding, having fun." Finn tried delicately.

"Life isn't about having fun all the time. You have to face the real world. Let me tell you something it comes back to bite you in the ass. The sooner you guys realise that the better." You could have heard a pin drop as Will delivered his diatribe, looking at each one of the members in turn to make sure his point came across.

When Will realised he had several pairs of eyes on him and no response he added dejectedly with a heavy sigh, "Look guys I'm sorry. Why don't we just cancel the rest of practice for today? I'm not myself today."

Without waiting for a reply Will left the choir room defeated. He'd now taken out his frustration on the kids and that wasn't fair, 'When did I become such a jackass?' Will thought to himself. He went to his classroom, collapsed into his chair and put his head in his hands. The whole situation with Emma was finally getting to him to the extent it was interfering with his teaching. Will prided himself on being a professional, but his display in the choir room was anything but.

The Glee kids looked after Will as he'd left the room still in shock to the magnitude of his outburst. Eventually they got themselves together and decided to go and hang out as a group off campus away from their volatile choirmaster. They made it to the end of the hall when they saw Emma walking towards her office. They all greeted her politely and she nodded and acknowledged them back but Puck hung back. Emma smiled uneasily at him. 'What did he want?'

"Is there something wrong Mr Puckerman?" Emma asked nervously.

"Umm, Miss P, Mr Shue got really mad in practice today and bit my head off. He just snapped you know and we're really worried about him. Did you two have a fight?"

Emma was shocked, not so much at his question but the fact that Will had a) lost his temper with his beloved Glee and b) that Noah Puckerman of all people came to ask her about it.

"Umm well...Mr Shuester is under a lot of pressure lately what with you guys winning Regionals, I guess he feels he now has to produce the same outcome next year..."

Puck interrupted her, "That's just bull Miss P. We know something happened between you two and whatever it is, it's tearing him apart. Can't you just talk to him?"

"Noah, our personal lives are none of your concern." Emma spoke firmly but when she looked into Puck's eyes she saw the hurt there. She huffed and said, "I'll go talk to him."

Puck's face lit up. "Thank you Miss P. You're the best!"

"You're welcome." She couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm. She watched as Puck caught up to the rest of Glee and realised that she loved them all just as much as Will did. 'Will! Oh God I better go and check that he's ok'.

Emma walked towards his classroom feeling full of energy. The therapy session had left her feeling full of confidence as she'd taken the initiative to phone Steve. Her smile widened at the thought. However, the sight that greeted her in Will's room was nothing to smile about. He was slumped over the desk looking like the weight of the world was on his shoulders.

"Will?" she called to him quietly and approached him slowly. When there was no response she tried again, but louder, "Will, you ok?"

Will sat up instantly as if someone had just administered an electric shock. He'd been crying. "Oh hey Em. Yeah I'm good, you ok?" He swiped at his tears and rubbed his eyes furiously. "My allergies are playing up." He tried to explain.

"Will, you don't have any allergies...Why don't you tell me what happened? The kids are worried about you."

"The kids?"

"Noah Puckerman said you lost it and bit his head off." Emma stared down at him her eyes wide with worry.

Will rubbed his face with both hands, sighed and sat back in his chair so he could look into Emma's eyes. 'God I miss those eyes' he thought absentmindedly to himself. He shook his head with an ironic smile on his face, "I got frustrated with the situation and I took it out on them. I will have to make it up to them."

"What situation Will? They won Regionals, you guys are getting another year." Emma played dumb on purpose she didn't really want to have this conversation again.

"Emma...you know what I'm talking about." The frustration in Will's voice was evident.

She nodded in acknowledgement, "Well what do you want me to do about it?"

Will looked at her in disbelief, "What do you mean what do I want you to do about it? I want you! Plain and simple." He spoke with such passion that Emma's heart skipped a beat and then she remembered Steve. 'Oh this is all getting so complicated again.' She thought to herself.

"Will I told you..."

"Yeah I know you're with Steve now. You've been on one date Emma. I think that hardly constitutes a relationship."

"Soon to be two actually." Emma was cross now. How dare he challenge her on her true feelings. So what that he was right?

"Emma please." Will was begging now, and squeezing his eyes shut which forced the rebellious tears from his eyes.

"Please what? Will just let me get on with my life. You had your chance, now let someone else have a turn to love me, for me." The tears had arrived from nowhere. She turned to go but Will caught her arm and pulled her to him.

"I love you for you." His eyes bore into hers willing her to understand.

"Will please let me go." The double meaning obvious to both of them as she tried to struggle away from his grasp. He held her tighter and pulled her into a hug. She was full on sobbing now.

"I'm sorry, shhh, it's alright." He soothed her and kissed her forehead.

"Will please..." It was pathetically weak. He loosened his grip in defeat and she hurried towards the door.

"Em!" He called after her and surprisingly, both to him and herself she stopped to look at him, raising her eyebrows in query.

"Just know...just know that if you ever need me I will be here for you...as a friend...or whatever you need me to be." He gave her a sad smile which she returned with a nod.

"I know. I um...better go and get ready. I can't go out looking like this." She tried to make light of the situation.

Will nodded back with a genuine smile, "Have fun Cinderella." She laughed at him then which caused him to laugh back before she turned to leave.

"I love you." He added. But she had already left. His face fell back into the sad dejected expression he'd worn before she got there.

'Well I better go home' he told himself. 'Home, to an empty and lonely apartment'.

**Well there you go. Not updated as quickly as I'd like but unfortunately I have to do some work occasionally. Like it, love it, hate it? Tell me what you think. Next up is date No 2 and then I promise some Wemma fluff. ****The fluff fairy is up but she's not had her coffee yet. Reviews are coffee beans **


	6. Date No 2

Emma hummed to herself quietly as she put the finishing touches to her hair and makeup, the trademark flick on the right side. She'd chosen a dress slightly out of her normal attire but she still felt comfortable. She'd bought it just after she and Will started dating the first time. 'Will!' she thought to herself. Her encounter with Will at school had unnerved her somewhat as the age old feelings had come swarming back as he'd held her tight and begged her to stay with him. She hadn't meant to break down and take his comfort. She knew she was sending him mixed signals but that was just testament to her own confused feelings. Emma shook her head violently at herself; she wasn't going to think of Will again for the rest of the evening. It was only fair if she could concentrate all her attention on Steve. He deserved that much. At that moment the doorbell rang breaking her reverie. She took one more nervous look at herself in the mirror and went towards the door.

"Hi" Emma smiled warmly as she was greeted by a very enthusiastic Steve.

"Hi...you look fantastic!" He said breathlessly and shaking his head in disbelief with a beaming smile on his face.

"Thank you." Emma ducked her head shyly and blushed.

"Shall we go gorgeous?" Steve asked as he looked Emma up and down again.

"Sure" Emma smiled widely back at Steve. His smile was infectious.

As she turned round after locking the door Steve had his hand held out to her, his eyebrow raised in questioning permission. Emma hesitated momentarily before smiling warmly again as she took Steve's hand. 'Maybe I can get over this without Will.' She thought to herself happily.

Emma's musical laughter carried through the restaurant as Steve finished telling her about one of his younger patients whose mother had overreacted horribly when she'd noticed black on his teeth. It turned out he'd got into the mother's pen ink and thought it was a tasty drink.

"Was he alright?"

"Yeah. He had to use a strong mouthwash for a couple of weeks but otherwise .."

There was a comfortable silence as Emma stopped laughing and reached for her drink and Steve just looked deep into Emma's eyes.

"You're so beautiful." The words just tumbled out without him thinking. Emma's eyes widened and she almost choked on her drink.

"You ok? Sorry I didn't mean to..." Steve was feverishly trying to backtrack. He hadn't meant to rush her, even though it was just a compliment.

"No, no I just...I'm just not used to hearing it...Thank you" Emma explained quickly. She wasn't used to hearing that from anyone other than...no she wasn't going to think about _him_.

"You should, and you will...so long as you're on my arm."

"Oh...well I..." Emma stuttered and found her napkin in her lap suddenly very interesting. When she raised her head, Steve had leaned in and was going to kiss her on the cheek. Unfortunately when she lifted her head she lifted her lips straight onto Steve's. It was over before it had begun really. It was pleasant enough Emma had thought but she wasn't on fire like she was when Wi..._he_ kissed her. There wasn't a tingle where Steve's lips had been. Emma did however notice that there wasn't a panic attack forthcoming so it couldn't be all bad. Maybe she could learn to love Steve as much as she had Wi..._him_. Emma kept having to correct herself so that she wouldn't use Will's name. She was getting frustrated with herself and she screwed her eyes up tight and stamped her foot under the table. Unfortunately Steve had been watching the wash of emotions play over Emma's face and took it as a reaction to his kiss.

"Emma, it was an accident. I shouldn't have rushed you...I'm sorry."

Emma was horrified at what Steve must have been thinking after watching that display from her.

"Oh gawsh Steve I'm sorry that wasn't a reaction to you it was frustration at myself, at my reaction to...oh, I guess I'm just not used to being kissed." Emma blushed heavily and went back to playing with her napkin.

Steve's face softened. He knew that Emma was shy and that she often felt isolated by her condition. He could see there was a woman there waiting to come outside of herself, to have some fun, to experience all the things in life that a healthy 30 year old should experience; and he wanted to be the one to show her that.

"Emma, honey, you've come so far since I first started seeing you at the surgery. I think you've just got to push the boundaries a little bit. Try to experience new things without worrying about how many germs are involved. There's a lot of neat stuff you're missing out on that I want to share with you." He smiled at her and placed his hand on her shoulder. When she didn't flinch he moved his chair closer and enveloped her in a hug. She came willingly and he felt her relax.

"Thank you for understanding all this. I know it's not easy." Emma spoke into his neck.

"It's ok sweetheart. You're doing great. We'll just take it one step at a time."

Steve squeezed Emma quickly before letting go and they decided to go back to ordering dessert. Emma managed to find something on the menu that wasn't dairy; even after Steve tried to coax her into ice cream.

At the end of what Emma considered a successful evening she and Steve walked hand in hand back to her apartment complex. When they reached the door, Emma hesitated while putting her keys in the lock. She didn't know whether to invite Steve in or not. He'd been so great with her at the restaurant and he'd proved that he could make her forget about the mysophobia, even if just for a little while. And she hadn't recoiled from his kiss. Her mind made up she turned to Steve and said,

"Would you like to come in...for some..tea?"

"Sure" Steve was a little surprised that she'd asked him back in but pleased. He was amazed at the progress Emma was making and with a little coaxing he could pretty much convince her to try anything...maybe tonight was his lucky night.

**Well that's it for today. A horrible cliffhanger I know and I'm very sorry it's taken so long to update. I've been on holiday and I actually started to write this in a traffic jam on the M20 last Saturday (I wasn't driving btw), and I just couldn't get any further with it. You will be pleased to know that Ch 7 is pretty much already written so it shouldn't be too long before I update. It all depends on how many reviews you feed me. They help the muse. Thank you to all those who have been reviewing, it's lovely to have the encouragement.**


	7. Safety

Will woke up with a start. Something wasn't right, what was that loud noise? Still in his sleepy haze, Will rose from the bed and walked towards the living room.

BANG, BANG, BANG. It was coming from his front door. Confused, Will cautiously stepped closer until he heard something that made his heart stop on the other side of the door, "Will please be there, please let me in." Her voice was unmistakeable, and it was filled with terror, he could hear her hyperventilating in a blind panic on the other side of the door. She banged on the door again, seemingly frantic. Will sped up and called to her through the door.

"Hang on Em I'm coming." The banging stopped as suddenly as it had began and he could tell she'd relaxed ever so slightly. He fell over his fingers trying to get the latches off so that he could get to her quicker. Whatever the problem was, it was big and she was petrified. No sooner as the door opened, the whirlwind that was Emma Pilsbury threw herself into his arms and sobbed. His arms encircled her automatically and it only took a minute for him to get his bearings before he shut the door and gently lifted Emma up and placed her on the couch gently before planting himself next to her so that she didn't have to relinquish her hold on his neck.

"It's ok, it's ok baby I've got you." Will tried to soothe her.

The T-shirt he'd been wearing was now soaking wet with her tears. 'What happened?' he thought to himself. He'd never seen her this upset.

"Emma, what happened?" His voice was soothing and her crying subsided but she couldn't answer him as she still hadn't loosened her death grip on his neck. Will made hypnotic circles on her back as he tried to calm her enough to get her to look at him.

"Em, please. Please talk to me." He was pleading now, deadly worried. He remembered she had a date tonight with Steve the Magnificent but judging from how happy she'd been at school, it couldn't have been that...could it? Will's grip subconsciously tightened on Emma as he thought about all the ways he could attack this Steve guy. By God if he'd hurt her...

"I..." Emma's meak voice broke his train of thought and Will pushed Emma away from him so that he could look at her. It worked, but what he saw in her face was no better than her crumpled frame sobbing in his arms and his heart broke all over again at the state she was in. Her mascara had run down her face and her doe eyes were like a wild animal's, filled with fear and something that Will though looked like shame. Her clothes were all rumpled and she was barefoot.

"It's ok Em, you can tell me." He encouraged. She looked up at him with a sad smile and nodded.

"We went back to my apartment after dinner." Will's grip instinctively tightened round her waist. 'So it was to do with him' Will thought to himself aggressively.

"We were sitting on the couch and we started..." Emma stopped mid-flow when she realised what she was about to say and who she was about to tell.

"What Em? Whatever it is, I'm here." Will knew what she was going to say but insisted he hear it from her rather than let his imagination run wild.

"We started making out." She paused for a moment, waiting for Will to lose his temper but he didn't. He just looked at her with a sad expression on his face and encouraged her to continue with a slight nod.

"Then things got a little...heated and he started to touch me...in placed I wasn't entirely comfortable." Emma was struggling to get the words out now. She could feel the anger radiating off of Will as his breathing became heavier and his face contorted into a frown.

"Did you tell him you weren't comfortable?" Will asked earnestly.

"Yes of course I did!" Emma said incredulously. Then her expression softened as she took another deep breath and her eyes filled with more tears, "But he said that he didn't understand why I was comfortable with kissing but not with...other stuff. I tried to explain but he cut me off and accused me of being a tease." Emma's fresh tears spilled over then, "And he was right. I am a tease. I came round here and told you I was ready to 'do the nasty' with you and then I just ran away. Oh God I deserve this don't I?" Emma was hysterical now and Will had to increase his grip on her to stop her from getting up to walk out. Will grabbed both sides of her face gently and forced Emma to look into his eyes.

"You are most definitely not a tease. You had a traumatic experience as a child that meant you couldn't stand germs. I knew that and he knew that. If he can't be a gentleman about it then he's not worth it." Will spoke forcefully but sincerely and it touched Emma's heart to know that Will felt she hadn't brought this on herself. She wouldn't have blamed him if he'd told her it was all her own fault after how she treated him.

"But Will I invited him in..."

"Yeah to come inside after dinner. That doesn't mean you're obligated to...to..." Will couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. It made him feel sick as he attempted to spit it out. Emma calmed him by placing her hand on his cheek.

"Thank you Will. Not just for tonight and understanding but for everything. Especially after how I've treat..."

"Shh, don't even think on it, that's what friends are for." He smiled warmly at her before adding, "And if there's anyone who should be sorry it's me...after how I treated you." Emma tried to speak then but Will got there first, "I...was so stupid for hurting you and I would spend my whole life making it up to you if you'd let me, even if it meant all we could share was friendship. I lo..." Emma's eyebrows shot up and Will stopped himself suddenly before he blurted out his earlier confession yet again. Now wasn't the time. Emma was emotionally drained and didn't need him trying to wriggle his way into her affections while she was still so vulnerable. Yes he wanted Emma, but he wanted her on equal terms, where she wanted him too.

"Come on let's get you to bed." Emma looked at Will confused, "Bed? I can't stay here." Emma looked horrified.

"Em, it's no trouble, I will sleep on the couch. It's late and you've had a traumatic experience. You need to rest."

"Will I'm fine honestly." Emma stood up and headed towards the door before Will caught her arm.

"Em...please...stay." His eyes were begging her now and Emma was so tried that she didn't have the energy to fight him.

"OK. But I'll sleep on the couch."

"No you won't. The sheets are fresh on my bed. Would you like a shower? I have clean towels." Will smiled at her then and it was infectious as Emma couldn't help but smile back at his thoughtfulness. When they were together like this she remembered why she fell in love with him. Instead of answering him she nodded silently.

"OK." Will smiled softly and brought her into a brief hug and then pulled away to kiss her forehead tenderly before going off in search of a clean towel.

Emma stared after him with a smile on her face for the second time that night before she realised that she'd fallen in love with him all over again.

**Well there you are. I hope you enjoyed your fluffy chapter. Do you think I should still continue with this or should I leave it there? The choice is yours, just let me know via the little review button.**


	8. What now?

Emma stood in the shower for half an hour. She was trying to erase the feeling of Steve's hands. The water was set to as hot as she could stand it and she'd washed herself three or four times; except her feet which she'd scrubbed red raw about 10 times due to her running out of her apartment with no shoes. She looked down after the fourth rinse and realised that her arms were bruised. She always did bruise like a peach, she thought to herself. Will had been so supportive of her. This caused tears to spring to her eyes all of a sudden. He was her rock, not just tonight, he'd always been so. When she'd stood in his living room tonight as he went to get her a clean towel, she'd finally admitted to herself that she loved him, and always had if she was being completely honest.

"Em...you ok?"

His voice came through the door full of concern. She must have been in there longer than she'd thought.

"Erm..yeah I'm fine. I'll...I'll be out in just a minute." She called back.

Emma quickly exited the shower and dried herself. She caught a glimpse of her face in the mirror. She looked exhausted and emotionally drained. She teared up again but quickly got herself into some clean clothes that Will had managed to find her to sleep in. As she stepped out of the bathroom with her head hanging in shame she collided with something hard...Will's well defined chest.

"Hey. You ok?" He was almost whispering, his arms automatically encircling her.

Emma couldn't help but lift her arms to pull him closer. He was so warm and comforting. The fact he was being so nice after the mess she'd made caused her to start crying all over again. Will could feel the moisture on his shirt.

"Hey, it's ok. It's over. I'm not going to let anything happen to you I promise." Will cooed in her ear. This only made Emma grab on tighter, wishing that he'd never let her go. Will started by kissing her hair and then her forehead, the end of her nose. He stopped then and looked into her eyes to check she was still ok with this. Her eyes were sparkling slightly in the dim light from when she'd been crying but the look she gave him was all the encouragement he needed. He leaned in slowly, barely touching her lips. He was only doing this out of comfort and didn't want to scare her away so soon after her ordeal with Steve. Will was just starting to pull away when Emma's hands found their way into his hair at the base of his neck and pulled him closer. There was a sharp intake of breath from Will before he closed his eyes and increased the pressure. Emma decided to go one step further and her tongue asked his lips permission to enter. Will was so shocked at her forwardness that he opened his mouth without thinking about it. Their tongues met passionately as they duelled for dominance. Will had thought the kiss in her office had been full of heat but this one was charged with the years of sexual tension.

Without breaking contact Will's hands found their way to Emma's hip and worked their way up to just under her ribs; his thumbs rubbing circles just underneath her breasts. Emma moaned. This proved too much for Will as he lifted Emma up and pinned her against the wall in the hallway. Emma's legs snaked their way round Will's waist and she could feel how much he wanted her. She ground in to him, instinct taking over for her now. This caused a guttural moan from Will as he met her thrust. His mouth moved away from her mouth to her neck. He sucked on her delicate skin causing another moan to emanate from Emma,

"Oh Will. Make love to me." She begged breathlessly.

Will stopped his ministrations on her neck and looked into her eyes. He slowly let her back down to the floor and placed his forehead against hers.

"I can't." He breathed out heavily as he tried to catch his breath.

Emma looked at Will confused. She could have sworn that she'd felt his ardour just moments ago. Her eyes travelled down to the obvious bulge in his groin. White heat went coursing to her centre, the nervous anticipation building within her again. Will followed her eyes and added,

"No, no! I don't mean that. I mean. It's not right. Not right now." Emma pouted uncharacteristically which caused a deep rumbling laughter from Will.

"Don't worry I want to, I just...can't take advantage of you like that." Will stroked her cheek.

Emma finally spoke up, "But I'm asking you to. I'm ready Will. I'm sure of it." She said adamantly.

"I know, but you've had a rough night and I don't want you to regret your first time."

"How could I regret it? It's with you. You were always it for me."

"You were always it for me..."

"Apart from Shelby and April." Emma interrupted him but regretted bringing it up as she said it. Her hormones had taken over her mouth. She added quickly, "Will I'm sorry I didn't mean to bring that up."

"S'okay. I guess I deserved that." Will looked at her with sad puppy dog eyes. She tried desperately to think of something to say to make it better but she'd hurt him...again.

"I should go." She started walking back out towards his living room.

"Go where Em? It's late...look I've put fresh sheets on the bed for you. It's no trouble." He smiled weakly at her.

"Stay with me." She asked, almost confused as to where the request had come from.

"I'll be in the next room I won't leave you." He said almost flippantly.

Emma grabbed his hand and looked straight at him to emphasise her point, "No I mean, stay next to me...in the bed."

"Em I don't know whether that's such a good..." He stopped and looked into her eyes, they had started to water again.

"Please?" The pleading in her eyes stopped him in his tracks.

"Okay. If it'll make you feel better." He sighed, resigned to the fact he could refuse her nothing if she looked at him like that. She nodded in affirmation of his comment.

Will led Emma into his bedroom and lifted up the sheets so that he could tuck her in. After she was comfortable he climbed into the other side. Emma immediately started to snuggle into his arms.

"Em are you sure about this?" Will was in heaven that she seemed so open to his comfort, but her comment about Shelby and April had unnerved him and left him feeling vulnerable, waiting for a fall. He knew that this must be too good to be true; especially after her request in the hallway.

"Hold me please...just 'til I fall asleep." She looked at Will nervously, petrified that he'd say no.

"Ok." He smiled at her then and they lay down on the pillows. Will's arm came over the top of the covers so that she was pinned in his embrace. Emma sighed contentedly. Just as he was nodding off he could have sworn he heard Emma say something in her sleep.

"I love you Will."

**Ok shippers. I hope that cheered you up. I think I might need to take a cold shower, I certainly didn't expect things to get that steamy but I found that's where the story took me. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know either way. **** Go on you know you want to press that little review button.**


	9. The Next Step

Emma woke up disorientated. The first thing that hit her was the unfamiliar smells, the lumpy pillows, and then when she opened her eyes fully, the fact that the window was on the wrong side of the room. She sat up suddenly then and looked around trying to piece together what had happened the night before through the haziness of sleep. Her ordeal with Steve came rushing back and as she was still waking up properly, she panicked thinking she was in Steve's bed in his T-shirt; hyperventilating profusely.

Completely through instinct Will could sense Emma had woken up and was panicked. He'd been preparing them breakfast in the kitchen but he could hear her murmuring and the rush of her breathing. He ran into his bedroom to find her in the foetal position with her eyes shut tight. He knelt down by her side of the bed so his eyes were level with her face,

"Hey...shhh. It's me." He spoke softly not wanting to frighten her in case she hadn't heard him approach.

Emma stopped shaking and frowned, still with her eyes closed. 'Will? Why was Will here?' And then she remembered the rest. Running barefoot out of her apartment and driving to Will's; banging on his door soaking wet; Will comforting her and letting her have a shower...she stopped then in her train of thought. She blushed heavily when she remembered the next bit. Will's lips were on her while she brazenly asked him to make love to her.

"Sorry...I guess I forgot where I was for a minute there." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear still blushing.

"It's ok. I shouldn't have got up. I thought you might wake up and be a little worried about sleeping in someone else's bed...but I promise that everything you've touched is clean." Will tried to reassure her.

Emma remembered how the night had ended then. How she'd hurt him with her cheap shot about April and Shelby. He'd still agreed to stay with her though until she fell asleep. By the sound of it he remained with her throughout the night. The thought comforted her, but she couldn't quite shake off the residual feeling of thinking it had been Steve's bed she'd woken up in.

She refused to look at him, "It wasn't that. I thought...I thought I was..."

Will's expression changed to one of slight shock and worry.

"You thought you were at his place...didn't you?"

She nodded silently and her tears began to fall once more. 'God when did I turn into such a watering pot?' she thought to herself. Will chose that moment to put his arms round her then and cradle her gently; rocking backwards and forwards for a few moments.

"You hungry?" He changed the subject hoping to make her feel better.

"A little" She conceded

"I made soy pancakes." He tried to sound enthusiastic. She frowned at him for a moment and then smiled.

"Sounds disgusting." She laughed as she sniffed.

"I didn't think you'd want anything to do with diary."

"My therapy has been going well. I can actually bring myself to drink milk now." She nodded as if to reiterate her statement, willing Will to believe her. It was still quite a revelation to her.

"Em that's amazing! You're incredible. Look how far you've come already. I'm so proud of you." He kissed her forehead instinctively.

"Yay, I can drink milk" Emma smiled sarcastically at him. Will rolled his eyes comically which caused Emma to laugh.

"I appreciate the encouragement but I know I've still got a long way to go." She sounded a little sad on the last part.

"I know but it's working. Do you feel better?"

"Yeah, I do. I just wish I was getting better quicker. It might have meant that you and I could've maybe..." She trailed off. She'd caught his eye halfway through the sentence and she could see the optimism there. She couldn't bear to lose him again and after last night there was no way they could be together now. She'd thrown herself at him and in doing so she'd set a standard that she knew he'd want to maintain. She wasn't sure she was ready although her dreams last night suggested otherwise.

"Maybe what?"

"Maybe we could have been something more...more than just friends" She mumbled but Will heard her.

"Why can't we be?"

"Will I'm a mess. I've just come out of a 'relationship' that I thought was going to last beyond two dates. I'm in no state to be in a relationship with anyone. I'm too fragile at the moment. I wouldn't want to drag anyone else down with my illness."

"Emma, I love you. Just the way you are. Warts and all...well you don't have any but...you know what I mean...Ah jeez I'm messing this up again!" He was getting frustrated with himself.

"No Will it's not..." She was horrified that after all this he still believed he was at fault. He'd more than apologised for his behaviour and she had led him on. He cut her off however.

"No hear me out. I want you and I to pick up where we left off. I want for us to go on a real first date, whether it's at a restaurant or just here or at your place...and then after that we'll just see what happens. No pressure." She looked into his eyes to make sure he was being sincere and not just feeding her a line. As always she saw nothing but the love her professed to feel for her.

"Will I...I want to be with you but I think you deserve someone better than me. Someone who you can serenade. Someone who you can make love to..." She struggled to finish.

"Emma have you forgotten what you asked me to do to you last night?" He made her blush for the third time that morning.

"No...it's just I couldn't promise a repeat performance any time soon." She was careful with how she put that. She didn't want to say she'd never be ready, she just wasn't sure she was ready now.

"Emma there's more to a relationship than sex." Emma looked at him sceptically. Hadn't that been what got between them before? Will continued before she could argue.

"Look I want all of you, the whole package I really don't care how long I have to wait. I've found myself...in you." Will lifted Emma's face so she could look straight at him. He was willing her to understand just how much he loved her and what he was prepared to go through to make it a reality. Emma tried to look away as she felt her surrender but Will quickly closed the gap and gently placed his lips on hers. Her arms found their way round his neck and she pulled him closer to her. As her hands wound their way through his curls she ran her tongue over his bottom lip. Will moaned as he opened his mouth to grant her entrance. He sucked on her tongue gently. He didn't want this to turn into a repeat of last night. This kiss was about a promise. She sighed contentedly before pulling away, nipping at his bottom lip as she went.

"So how about that date then?" Will raised his eyebrows as he posed the question; slightly breathless.

Emma twisted her mouth into a thinking position. She wanted to say yes desperately but she couldn't bear to lose Will again. They weren't ready the first time and now she wasn't really in any fit mental state to try and allow someone else to touch her. However, one look into Will's eyes and after the kiss they'd just shared she knew what she was going to say, "Ok. But can we stay in?"

"Sure." Will beamed at her and went to give her a hug. Emma launched herself into his arms and squeezed him as if her life depended on it. At some point tears had started running down her cheeks, but for the first time in many years, they were tears of joy.

**I'm so sorry I've taken so long with this. Writer's block is a b***h****! I'll try and post the next one sooner. I hope you like this one for now.**


	10. THE Date

Emma stared at herself in the mirror. It seemed like only yesterday that she'd been standing in this exact same position waiting on her date with Steve. She shivered momentarily at the mention of his name before reminding herself, that he was in the past. Tonight she was focusing on the future and her date with Will. She couldn't believe the number of butterflies she felt fluttering about in her gut. Yes she was nervous, but this felt so much better than before. She checked herself one more time before heading out the door and to her car to head back to Will's for their date.

Across town, Will was busy putting the finishing touches to their romantic meal he'd prepared. He had been a little apprehensive about letting Emma go back to her apartment without knowing whether Steve had left or not. Ok, so it'd been over 17 hours since Emma had raced from her apartment to his, but Will wasn't sure whether or not Steve would be waiting to pounce on her once she arrived back at her apartment. In the end, they had decided to go over to her place together and Will would have a look around and make sure she was safe before leaving her. As it turned out, Steve had left her a note of apology and begged for another chance; Emma promptly threw this in the bin. Will had found it hard to say goodbye, but she promptly reminded him with a giggle and a peck on the cheek that they'd see each other in a few hours. Will smiled at the memory and sighed contentedly; before a knock on his door drew him from his daydream. His smile became wider as he glanced at his watch and realised it could be none other than the reason for his daydreams. Will opened the door and his breath caught as it revealed Emma standing there in a pale green top, a pair of skinny jeans and her favourite Mary Janes.

"Hey." He said breathlessly.

"Hi." Emma lowered her head and blushed under Will's intense gaze.

"You look amazing!" Will gushed.

"Thanks...Can I come in?" She said with a slight wobble in her voice.

"Sure!" Will moved aside and mentally kicked himself for forgetting his manners in his haste to look Emma up and down. He decided to change the subject as he sensed Emma's apprehension of his excessive scrutiny.

"I hope you're hungry. Dinner will be ready in about five minutes." He smiled warmly at her, trying to make her feel at ease. He was nervous too, and didn't want to screw up his second chance. Will felt a switch in Emma's demeanour with the change of subject and she visibly relaxed.

She smiled back at him, "Great! What are we having?" She asked enthusiastically.

"Well I've made seafood linguine for dinner, and then I thought we'd try a British dessert for afters. A buddy of mine who's just moved to England sent me a cookbook full of classic English desserts. It's called Eton Mess!"

Emma froze. 'Mess?' She thought, that didn't sound like a good idea, no matter how much better she was getting with them. Will sensed her panic before placing his hands on her shoulders and rubbing soothing circles into them.

"It's ok Em, it's not really a mess. It's just called that because all the ingredients are mixed up. It's cream, crushed meringue and strawberries. I can make it with evaporated milk if you're still not ready for cream though."

Emma relaxed into his touch. How could she not love this man? He'd gone to the trouble of cooking for her and here he was still trying to fit it around her.

"No...cream will...will be just fine." She choked out. "Thank you Will." She looked deep into his eyes.

"For what?"

"For understanding, for being so flexible...I can't believe how lucky I am..."

"No Em, I'm the lucky one. I'm incredibly blessed to have you as a...friend." Will choked out the last word. He wanted to be so much more. However, he knew that this date was the first step in the right direction and that he shouldn't push his luck. Looking back into Emma's eyes he felt hypnotised and his mouth seemed to be angled towards hers. Emma's breathing accelerated as he came closer. Her eyes closed in anticipation before they were interrupted by the sound of the pasta boiling over. The moment was gone, but before Will released her, he placed a lingering kiss on her forehead before smiling and asking her to sit up to the table. As she walked through Will could hear Emma gasp as she took in the sight before her. Will had wanted to make it special for their first date, even if they were staying in, so the table and lounge were bathed in candle light and there was a vase of pink gerberras (Emma's favourite flower) just to the left of centre on the dining table.

"Oh Will..."

"You like?" Will asked as he came into the room holding two steaming plates of pasta before placing them on the mats on the table.

"Oh Will, I love it. It's perfect." Emma started to tear up which led Will to come and wipe a few stray tears from her cheeks.

"Shh, don't cry. I just want you to enjoy yourself tonight and not feel any pressure...and allow me to spoil you a little bit." Will sent a cheeky grin her way. Emma couldn't help but smile back as she composed herself.

"I don't think there's any danger of me not enjoying myself." Emma said matter-of-factly before sitting down and digging into her mound of linguine.

Dinner was an easy affair for both of them. The conversation mainly centred on the Glee club, but gradually they started on more personal topics, away from work. By the time the dessert was ready to be served, they'd covered most of Emma's childhood right up until she moved to Lima. Will sat enthralled. She was a good storyteller and he enjoyed getting to know her better. She seemed so much more at ease than she had when they'd last tried to date and his heart soared as he watched her dig into her Eton mess. Who would have thought Emma Pilsbury would have eaten cream without having a panic attack!

"What?" She asked as she caught him staring.

"Oh um, nothing." He dropped his head like the kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Seriously, what?" She asked a little more forcefully this time.

"It's nothing really, I just can't believe that you're eating cream. It's fantastic." He beamed at her.

"Well this is too good not to eat, mysophobia or not." She smiled back before resuming her attack on the delicious dessert.

Will had made a pot of coffee and Emma has convinced him to reveal more about his childhood. Before either of them knew it, it was eleven o'clock and it was time to say goodnight. As Will led Emma to the door she turned to kiss him goodnight, only his cheek wasn't where she thought it was and her lips ended up colliding with Will's. Her eyes widened before fluttering closed. Will encircled her waist and pulled Emma to him to increase the pressure. He could have sworn he heard her moan as his grip tightened so he decided to be even bolder and his tongue snaked out and ran along her bottom lip. Emma shuddered in his arms and opened her mouth to grant his tongue entrance but Will didn't comply. Instead he pulled back and their lips parted with a audible pop.

"Goodnight Emma." Will was breathless from the kiss. She could feel his warm breath on her face still as he pressed their foreheads together.

"Goodnight Will." She was just as breathless.

"See you on Monday. Last week of school!" Will changed the subject again to try and get himself under control so that he didn't frighten Emma away. She frowned in a confused manner before replying,

"Yeah, see you Monday." She sounded disappointed as she turned towards the door, but Will turned her back to face him before lifting her chin and saying,

"Hey, sweet dreams." He smiled and stole a quick kiss.

Emma beamed back, "You too." she half whispered before exiting.

Will leaned against his front door, 'How am I ever going to make it until Monday?' He thought to himself before starting to clean up from dinner.

Emma was similarly leaning up against the outside of his door, her cheeks flushed from his kisses, 'How am I ever going to wait until Monday?' She thought to herself with a huff before heading down the stairs to the parking lot.

**Well there you go peeps. I know it's been super long since I updated this but I really didn't know where I wanted to go overall with this, and life has kinda got in the way. I'm hoping to get back on track with this now though. I have planned the rest of the story roughly so I expect to write five more chapters before calling it a day. I'm also going to attempt my first smut scene. I've been inspired by a lot of you on here to write a good one between Will and Emma. However, my Castle fic(s) may end up winning that one so I'll wait and see how my little fairy muse gets on.**

**Please R&R if you can. I can't tell you how amazed I am that some of you are still with me.**

**By the way, if anyone wants the recipe for Eton Mess let me know and I can IM you. You can also do it with raspberries!**

**Please also note rating change. I was reading through some of the other chapters and felt that maybe I should have up-ed it a little earlier on, but better late than never right?**


	11. Back at School

Emma sat at her desk on Monday morning, the events of her weekend running through her mind. Her dinner with Will had been the most romantic time she'd ever had. And his kisses! God those kisses made her feel like she'd melt into a puddle on the floor. She blushed at the memory of the tingling she'd felt in her gut as his tongue came out to caress her bottom lip, and the moisture she later discovered in her underwear when she got home. Will Shuester did something to her that no other man could or had. Being apart from him since Saturday night had taken its toll. On Sunday Emma had woken up in such a funk that she decided to clean her house from top to bottom, just to prevent herself from high tailing it round to Will's to have her wicked way with him. She smiled to herself secretly. Oh how she'd love to have him wrap her up in his strong arms and show her the sincerest form of love...

"Hi Em."

'Talk of the devil' she thought as his voice cut through her reverie. She hurriedly tried to compose herself by ducking her head and tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear before lifting her head again to meet his baby blues.

"Hi Will." Try as she might, she couldn't help but blush like a schoolgirl.

Will noticed and decided to tease her, "Miss me?" He asked as he sat in the chair across from her desk, his elbows leaning on her desk with his hands resting underneath his chin.

Emma blushed even more so that her cheeks were the same colour as her hair. Will took pity on her then, "...Because I missed you."

Emma glanced up suddenly so that she could be sure he was being sincere. It wasn't that she doubted him, she just wasn't used to this kind of attention. When she was confident that he was telling the truth, she responded in kind.

"I missed you too." Her blush still hadn't disappeared but she spoke confidently; truthfully. She had missed him, but she was in uncharted waters now. _They_ were in uncharted waters. They'd never made it past one date before.

There was a brief silence before Will cut through it, "So, I was thinking that it'd be nice if we could go on another date soon...how...how do you feel about that?" Will stumbled over his words. He was so afraid of pushing his luck but he couldn't stand to be away from her for too long. However, he knew that this had to be at her pace otherwise he'd lose her again, and he wasn't going to let that happen if he could help it. He looked at Emma hopefully who looked like she'd just been asked the square root of 387. It wasn't a hard question, but Emma was so unsure of what lay in store for them. She looked at Will and could see the emotions running across his face. He was wary of messing this up too. She smiled at him warmly which resulted in a grin spreading across Will's face.

"Sure, I'd love to. Shall I cook this time?" She suggested.

"Well actually, I was wondering whether you would like to go to Breadstix." Emma's face fell slightly, she wasn't sure whether she was ready to eat out in a place where she had no control over how clean everything was. Will noticed her reaction and came to her rescue,

"Em, there's no pressure. If you're not ready to go to a restaurant then we can stay in, I really don't..."

"No Will I think Breadstix is a lovely idea. I need to at least try to eat in a restaurant." Emma interrupted. She spoke firmly but Will wasn't convinced that she was 100% comfortable with the idea.

"I tell you what, if at any point you feel uncomfortable, we can get them to pack up our food and we can go home; either your place or mine, and finish our date there. How does that sound?" Will asked hopefully with one of his signature crooked grins.

Emma's heart soared. Will was so in tune with what she needed. "That sounds perfect." she smiled back.

"Great! So how does Friday, at seven thirty sound? I figured it could be a double celebration for getting to the end of the year in one piece."

"What's the second part of the celebration?" Emma asked quizically.

"Getting to our second date..." It was Will's turn to blush. Emma couldn't contain her giggle, he could be so cute sometimes.

"Friday sounds perfect."

Just as she finished her sentence the bell rang for first period. Will sighed before rising out of the chair and coming round to Emma's side of the desk. Her breathing started to increase as he approached, 'Was he really going to kiss her here, in front of everyone?' she thought to herself. The thought made her cheeks grow hot once again but made her feel alive at the sense of danger of being caught. PDA was not looked upon lightly at McKinley. However, she felt Will take hold of her hand and place a kiss on top of it, in a very old fashioned gesture.

"See you at lunch, my fair lady." He bowed in an excessive fashion before making a quick exit to get to home room, he was already two minutes late. Emma was flushed again as she watched him leave her office. Friday couldn't come sooner.

As Will made his way to home room re-ran the events of the past 10 minutes. He had admitted how much he'd missed her over the one day they'd been apart. He had been sincere. He'd nearly driven himself mad after she'd left. Once the dishes were cleared away he still felt too excited for sleep so he settled for a cold shower instead in hope that it would cool his ardour. It had helped a little but as soon as he crawled into bed he caught the scent of her perfume from when she'd slept in the bed the night before and he was hard once again. He didn't want to change the sheets because although the scent of her excited him beyond anything he'd ever experienced before, it also calmed him down. Unfortunately the former was the forefront that night so sleep was not very forthcoming. On Sunday he had to distract himself with things for Glee just so that he could stop himself from calling her and asking her over again. He was aware that she more than likely would have come over, but trying to keep his hormones in check was getting decidedly more challenging and he was adamant that he would abide by the 'take it slow' approach they'd agreed on. After another cold shower before bed, Will fell into a fitful sleep; needless to say that Monday morning reared it's ugly head much sooner than his body would have liked considering the lack of sleep he'd had over the past couple of days. Nevertheless, he was alert, as he knew that he would get to legitimately see Emma, albeit in the confines of school hours, but see her nonetheless. His heart leapt when she'd accepted his offer of another date. The only problem now was going to be being able to contain his excitement for another four days. At least he was going to see her at lunchtime, then once Friday came, they'd have all summer to spend together and explore their new and budding relationship.

Will practically skipped into home room with that thought.

**Well there we have it, another one down. This one's a filler so I'm sorry that not much has happened. I tried to get both their perspectives in terms of how their weekends went, as well as getting them on to the next date and beyond. Next stop Breadstix!**

**You guys are amazing. The reviews have been fantastic. Thanks for sticking with me. Keep R&Ring :)**


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